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File 600/1905 Pt 5 'Aden Hinterland: Treaty with Sultan of Balahaf' [116r] (15/152)
The record is made up of 1 item (74 folios). It was created in Sep 1904-Jul 1906. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
matter after the death of His Highness. I further said that His
Highness the Sultan desired that he and Munasir should retire to
Hadramut and live there
ra^phSof Resident’s letter No. 180, dated f or a time when, if their
29th June i902.
conduct was satisfactory,
he would give them some administrative employment.
Sultan Husain complained bitterly of the orders of Government and said
that they were quite unjust and improper, hut after considerable conversation
and explanation I persuaded him that his only and best course was to submit.
Sultan Husain at last said that he had come for the purpose of complying with
the orders of Government, but that his troops were in arrears of pay amounting
to some 30,000 dollars and that he himself was in debt and it was impossible
for him to settle with the troops. I then went and explained the situation to
His Highness, who refused to pay any money at all for the purpose, saying,
that Sultan Husain had plenty of money and that this was simply a ruse ; I re
turned to Sultan Husain and after some further conversation suggested that
he should see his uncle and make proper submission and that possibly some solu
tion of the difficulty might then be found. Sultan Husain at last agreed to this
and I and Khan Bahadur Muncherji Rustomji Dbolu, C.I.E , accompanied him
to his uncle’s cabin, where he made his submission to his uncle by saluting him
as an Arab subject does his Chief. Both then agreed to forget and forgive the
past and finally His Highness Sultan Awadth said that though he would be
perfectly justified in punishing his nephews and the troops who had rebelled
against him, yet he gave them a free pardon provided they left Shehr and that
his nephews should retire to Hadramut for a time, and if he was satisfied with
their conduct, he would not forget that they were his nephews and were nearer
to him than strangers whom he employed. After a long conversation Sultan
Husain was given 24 hours to comply with the Sultan’s demands and he left
saying he would try and settle about the pay of his troops.
I accordingly postponed active measures for the day.
12. At 8 a.m. next day (17th) Sultan Husain came on hoard and said he
had come as decided, but that he had failed to raise money to pay his troops,
who declined to give up Husn-Al-Baidth unless they were paid. I then obtained
from him an order writing to the chief of his troops to at once surrender Dar
Nasir and Husn-Al-Riadth and I addressed a letter to Sultan Ghalib telling him
to get the town cleared of people by 10 a.m., and arranged for the same signals
as before to signify surrender of the forts. 10 a.m. passed without surrender
and at 11-30 a.m. I went on board H. M. S. “Pcrs^#” and desired Com
mander Pears to open fire on Husn-Al-Riadth at first and suggested that a blank
charge should first be fired to notify the rebels that action was intended. The
blank charge had its effect and the signal of surrender was hoisted whilst the
ship was being placed in position to open fire effectively on the fort. I returned
to the R. I. M. S. “ Mayo, ” and shortly after received a letter from Sultan
Ghalib notifying that he was in possession of Husn-Al-Riadth and Dar Nasir
which he soon afterwards confirmed by word of mouth and adding that he was
now in full possession of the town and that bultan Husain s rebel troops were his
prisoners.
13. Meanwhile Sultan Husain had decided that he would prefer to reside in
Aden pending division of the property.
14. I addressed a letter to be sent to Munasir by His Highness the Sultan
in which I informed him that as he had not chosen to come to Shehr in com
pliance with my summons his uncle Sultan Awadth had permission to deal with
him as he thought fit.
15. The “ Mayo ” then proceeded in company of H. M. S. “ Perseus ’’to
Mokalla where 1 landed His Highness the Sultan and sailed for Balahaf that
night at 9 p.m.
16. The difficulty and danger of landing British troops by small detach
ments in only a limited number of surf boats at disposal prevented me from
5
344FD
About this item
- Content
Part 5 of the file relates to the negotiations over a treaty with the Wahidi [al-Wāḥidī], ruling family of Balahaf [Balhaf] and Bir Ali [Bīr ‘Alī].
The correspondents include:
- General Harry Macan Mason, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Aden;
- Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. ;
- Government of India, Foreign Department;
- numerous tribal leaders and representatives.
Several matters are covered by the papers, including:
- the power struggle between Sultan Mohsin bin Saleh (al-Wāḥidī) and his father, Saleh bin Abdullah;
- Mohsin bin Saleh's submission to the British in December 1904 and his subsequent election as chief of Balhaf;
- Saleh bin Abdullah's attempt to sell his share of Balhaf to Sultan Ghalib of Maculla [al-Mukallā];
- the conclusion of a treaty with the Wāḥidīs on 13 November 1905.
Folios 158-161 contain tables of information on the tribal sections and sub-sections under the Wāḥidīs authority, a list of Wāḥidī villages, and a Wāḥidī genealogical chart.
Folio 148 is a copy of the final treaty between the British and the Wāḥidīs.
- Extent and format
- 1 item (74 folios)
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/75/2
- Title
- File 600/1905 Pt 5 'Aden Hinterland: Treaty with Sultan of Balahaf'
- Pages
- 109r:147v, 149r:184v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence